Search

Burning lignocellulosic biomass wastes in an outdoor atmosphere has placed heavy burden on ecological environment and increased risk on human health. Converting solid agricultural wastes into functional materials is a research hotspot. In this study, N-doped and CoO-loaded carbocatalyst (CoO-N/BC) was successfully synthesized from the cotton stalk biomass via a simple synthesis process of impregnation and carbonization. Compared with cotton stalk biomass derived pristine biochar, the CoO-N/BC possessed a higher specific surface area (466.631 m2 g-1 vs 286.684 m2 g-1) as well as a better catalytic performance in the activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for CIP degradation. The superior catalytic efficiency was ascribed to the directional flow of electrons on the well-organized carbon network of CoO-N/BC, which accelerated electron migration and improved electron conduction ability. Based on the results of radical quenching experiment and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), both radical and non-radical process conjointly led to the stepwise decomposition of CIP, and singlet oxygen (1O2) mediated non-radical pathway was discovered to play a dominant role. Besides, the carbon-bridge mediated non-radical pathway was proved to accelerate this degradation process through the experiments of prolong the time of adding CIP at different time intervals. Nitrogen doped sites and CoO active sites as well as defects formed in sp2-hybridized carbon network were supposed to be the active sites for PMS. Furthermore, EIS and LSV were employed to confirm the electron transfer mediated non-radical process of reaction system. This work provides a modified strategy for the disposition of lignocellulosic biomass wastes and illuminates the underlying mechanism of heterogeneous catalysis by CoO-N/BC.

Antibiotics and microplastics (MPs) inevitably coexist in natural waters, but their combined effect on aquatic organisms is still ambiguous. This study investigated the individual and combined toxicity of chloramphenicol (CAP) and micro-polystyrene (mPS) particles to Microcystis aeruginosa by physiological biomarkers, related gene expression, and molecular dynamics simulation. The results indicated that both individual and joint treatments threatened algal growth, while combined toxicity was higher than the former. Photosynthetic pigments and gene expression were inhibited by single CAP and mPS exposure, but CAP dominated and aggravated photosynthetic toxicity in combined exposure. Additionally, mPS damaged cell membranes and induced oxidative stress, which might further facilitate the entry of CAP into cells during co-exposure. The synergistic effect of CAP and mPS might be explained by the common photosynthetic toxicity target of CAP and mPS as well as oxidative stress. Furthermore, the molecular dynamics simulation revealed that CAP altered conformations of photosynthetic assembly protein YCF48 and SOD enzyme, and competed for functional sites of SOD, thus disturbing photosynthesis and antioxidant systems. These findings provide useful insights into the combined toxicity mechanism of antibiotics and MPs as well as highlight the importance of co-pollutant toxicity in the aquatic environment.

Biochar has been frequently used as a persulfate (PS) activator due to its attractive properties, but dissolved organic matter (DOM) derived from the non‑carbonized part of biochar has received less attention, not to mention its specific role and impact in biochar/PS systems. In this study, wheat straw, municipal sludge, and swine bone were selected as the representative feed stocks of biochar. Subsequently, these three types of biochar were adopted to explore the roles of DOM in biochar/PS systems. Although the composition and amount of DOM derived from different biochar were discrepant, they exhibited similar effect in biochar/PS systems. To be specific, the pore-clogging effect of DOM on biochar suppressed the adsorption capacity and catalytic performance of the three biochar. Furthermore, the removal of DOM decreased the environmental risk of these biochar/PS systems and enhanced the stability of the involved biochar. With respect to the variation in degradation mechanism, the removal of DOM increased the proportion of electron transfer pathway in unison, but the diminution in the roles of O

We here report a case of a middle-aged man with an unusual case of bullous lichen sclerosus complicated with generalized morphea. He showed initial recurrent flaccid bullae, followed by ivory-white sclerotic plaques and extensive skin sclerosis, with additional walking disorder caused by knee-joint contracture, and ulcers on the lower extremities and back. The patient had no visceral involvement. After oral hydroxychloroquine and oral corticosteroids failed, the patient was given tofacitinib, which resolved his ulcers after 4 weeks and ameliorated his knee-joint contracture and skin sclerosis within 4 months. Owing to the occurrence of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, he stopped using tofacitinib, and the ulcer and walking disorder reappeared. This is rare case of bullous lichen sclerosus-generalized morphea overlap syndrome. The patient recovered well after treatment with tofacitinib. His symptoms recurred after discontinuation of tofacitinib.

We investigated the abundance of microplastics in freshwater, treated water, and household tap water from the drinking water supply chain in Changsha, China. The abundance was 2173-3998 (mean = 2753), 338-400 (mean = 351.9), and 267-404 (mean = 343.5) particles L-1 in freshwater, treated water, and tap water, respectively. Fibrous and fragments made up the majority (> 70%) in all water samples, and most polymers were composed of polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyethylene terephthalate. Microplastics in tap water were related to materials of transportation pipelines in drinking-water supply chain. Although plastics are corrosion-resistant, the slight fragmentation and abrasion may occur during drinking water treatment transportation. This study provided a proof for the occurrence of microplastics in drinking water, which may offer a reference for microplastic removal during drinking water treatment, and the formulation of standards for microplastic content in drinking water.

Human noroviruses (NoVs) are one kind of highly infectious enteric viruses, and they are the leading cause of epidemic and pandemic viral gastroenteritis worldwide. NoVs could be excreted into municipal wastewater in relatively high concentrations by infected individuals, and the contaminated water is the predominant cause of NoV infection. Consequently, the disinfection of NoV in municipal wastewater is of utmost significance for public health. In this mini-review, conventional disinfection techniques adopted in wastewater treatment plants including chemical disinfection and UV irradiation are introduced briefly. After summarizing current advances in the development of novel disinfection methods based on the up-to-date literature, the challenges and outlook of future perspectives are critically proposed. This research will help to facilitate the further development of novel disinfection methods for NoV in municipal wastewater.

Polluted stormwater (PSW) treatment is becoming increasingly important because of the existence of multiple pollutants from non-point pollution sources. Alfalfa biochar loaded with Mg/Fe layered double hydroxide (AF-LDH) was successfully synthesized to remove trace metal(loid)s from stormwater. The adsorption kinetics and isotherms of metal(loid)s in a mono-component system and the reusability of the composite materials was investigated in this study. The result showed that the maximum removal efficiency for Pb(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Cd(II), As(V), and Cr(VI) were 98.98 %, 98.11 %, 97.88 %, 97.71 %, 98.81 %, and 50.89 %, respectively, when added calcined AF-LDH (AF-LDO) composite material to the multi-component solution. The AF-LDH and AF-LDO could efficiently remove trace pollutants (10-100 μg/L) from multi-component solution, especially for AF-LDO, which could completely remove the tested six trace metal(loid)s. Furthermore, Fourier transform infrared spectra and X-ray diffraction characterizations supported the Mg/Fe layered double hydroxide reconstruction. The main mechanisms of Pb(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), and Cd(II) (cationic metals) removal were ion exchange and surface precipitation, whereas As(V) and Cr(VI) (anionic metals) were mainly dislodged through the formation of surface complexation, electrostatic attraction, and interlayer anion exchange, concerning the -OH and -COOH of AF-LDH. Importantly, the results of the column experiment demonstrated that AF-LDO was superior to AF-LDH for anionic metal removal from stormwater. In this study, we synthesized AF-LDH and AF-LDO for trace metal(loid) removal and proposed a new and practical approach for stormwater purification.

Loss of melanocytes induced by activated CD8+ T cells is the pathological hallmark of vitiligo. Melanocyte-specific CD8+ T cells are recruited to the skin via chemokines, thereby releasing perforin, granzyme, and other cytotoxic substances that destroy the melanocytes. However, the mechanism of CD8+ T cells to adhere to melanocytes is unknown. Previous transcriptome sequencing results published by our group showed that the occluding (OCLN) gene was significantly upregulated in CD8+ T cells from skin lesions of vitiligo. Occludin is a crucial component of the tight junction between cells; in cells without tight junction, occludin mediates the adhesion of two cells in the form of a self-ligand. This study demonstrated that OCLN gene expression was elevated in the CD8+ T cells of vitiligo patients, and occludin mediates the adherence of CD8+ T cells to melanocytes. Besides, pathological changes in vitiligo skin lesions reveal that CD8+ T cells continuously persist in the skin lesions, which is related to the persistence of the disease. In this regard, we found that fibroblasts from vitiligo patients significantly express occludin, which may participate in the continuous retention of CD8+ T cells in the skin lesions. The pathogenesis of vitiligo is closely related to oxidative stress, and our data suggest that overexpression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) increases the expression of occludin. Besides, ChIP-qPCR of CD8+ T cells revealed that HIF-1α directly binds to the OCLN promoter. Thus, occludin upregulation promotes the adhesion of CD8+ T cells and melanocytes via the HIF-1α signaling pathway. Our study results suggested a critical role for OCLN in the occurrence, progression, and maintenance of vitiligo. Therefore, inhibiting the expression of OCLN gene may be a potential targeted treatment strategy.

Perforin (PRF), a pivotal cytotoxic effector molecule of activated CD8To investigate the contributions of DNA methylation to the abnormal expression of perforin in CD8Skin samples and CD8Increased CD8Hypomethylation of the perforin promoter contributes to its overexpression in CD8

Autoimmune diseases are a group of heterogeneous diseases with diverse clinical manifestations that can be divided into systemic and organ-specific. The common etiology of autoimmune diseases is the destruction of immune tolerance and the production of autoantibodies, which attack specific tissues and/or organs in the body. The pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases is complicated, and genetic, environmental, infectious, and even psychological factors work together to cause aberrant innate and adaptive immune responses. Although the exact mechanisms are unclear, recently, excessive exacerbation of pyroptosis, as a bond between innate and adaptive immunity, has been proven to play a crucial role in the development of autoimmune disease. Pyroptosis is characterized by pore formation on cell membranes, as well as cell rupture and the excretion of intracellular contents and pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-1β and IL-18. This overactive inflammatory programmed cell death disrupts immune system homeostasis and promotes autoimmunity. This review examines the molecular structure of classical inflammasomes, including NLRP3, AIM2, and P2X7-NLRP3, as the switches of pyroptosis, and their molecular regulation mechanisms. The sophisticated pyroptosis pathways, including the canonical caspase-1-mediated pathway, the noncanonical caspase-4/5/11-mediated pathway, the emerging caspase-3-mediated pathway, and the caspase-independent pathway, are also described. We highlight the recent advances in pyroptosis in autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, Sjögren’s syndrome and dermatomyositis, and attempt to identify its potential advantages as a therapeutic target or prognostic marker in these diseases.

Gold (Au) nanoparticles supported on certain platforms display highly efficient activity on nitroaromatics reduction. In this study, steam-activated carbon black (SCB) was used as a platform to fabricate Au/SCB catalysts via a green and simple method for 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) reduction. The obtained Au/SCB catalysts exhibit efficient catalytic performance in reduction of 4-NP (rate constant kapp = 2.1925 min-1). The effects of SCB activated under different steam temperature, Au loading amount, pH and reaction temperature were studied. The structural advantages of SCB as a platform were analyzed by various characterizations. Especially, the result of N2 adsorption-desorption method showed that steam activating process could bring higher surface area (from 185.9689 m²/g to 249.0053 m²/g), larger pore volume (from 0.073268 cm³/g to 0.165246 cm³/g) and more micropore for SCB when compared with initial CB, demonstrating the suitable of SCB for Au NPs anchoring, thus promoting the catalytic activity. This work contributes to the fabrication of other supported metal nanoparticle catalysts for preparing different functional nanocomposites for different applications.

A novel yolk-shell Ag3PO4@MIL-53(Fe) Z-scheme photocatalyst was fabricated via a “bottle-around-ship” like method. Experiments on the treatment of tetracycline upon visible light irradiation showed that the as-prepared photocatalyst possessed excellent photocatalytic performance. Experimental results showed that tetracycline removal efficiency of the yolk-shell Ag3PO4@MIL-53(Fe) Z-scheme photocatalyst was almost 3 times higher than that of MIL-53(Fe). The enhanced photocatalytic performance of Ag3PO4@MIL-53(Fe) nanocomposite could be contributed to its higher surface area, better absorption capability, and greater charge separation efficiency. In addition, the H2O2 concentration detection results for Ag3PO4 (154 μmol/L) and Ag3PO4@MIL-53(Fe) (52 μmol/L) indicated that a big part of generated H2O2 on the Ag3PO4 core would be quickly decomposed by the MIL-53(Fe) shell and generated more reactive species through the photo-Fenton-like reaction, which is beneficial for the improvement of photocatalytic performance. This is a promising approach to fabricate yolk-shell structure photocatalyst and a different aspect to design multiple semiconductor composites heterojunction for environmental remediation.

Solar energy is a clean and sustainable energy source. Natural photosynthesis has existed for millions of years, which can convert solar energy into chemical energy needed by living things. Inspired by natural photosynthesis, scientists have developed a series of artificial photosynthetic systems that can use solar energy efficiently for humans. Conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) are a new class of materials that can be used in artificial photosynthetic systems. This review illustrates the light-harvesting capability and the energy transfer phenomena within the supramolecular structure of CMPs to provide guidelines for the rational design of these polymers with excellent photocatalytic properties and systematically discusses the applications of these materials in the field of photocatalysis including photocatalytic water splitting, CO2 reduction, organic conversion, environmental remediation, and medical health. Finally, this review points out the major challenges in this topic and suggests the next feasible development direction.

Efficient removal of tetracycline (TCN) from aqueous solution is important for water environment security. Herein, magnetic carbon-αFe/Fe3C derived from metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) were synthesized by a carbonization method and used for TCN adsorption. The magnetic carbon-αFe/Fe3C adsorbent was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), thermal gravimetric analyzer (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectrum (XPS) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The resultant magnetic carbon-αFe/Fe3C exhibited outstanding TCN adsorption capacity (511.06 mg g−1) from aqueous solution due to its large specific surface area (171.72 m2 g−1) and pore volume (0.31 cm3 g−1), and abundant active adsorption sites. The main adsorption mechanisms were physisorption and chemisorption, including pore filling effect and electrostatic adsorption. Moreover, magnetic carbon-αFe/Fe3C could remove TCN at low concentrations (

The presence of large amounts of contaminants in the environment would result in ecological and health hazards. The photocatalytic technologies have been developed to use sunlight to remove contaminants in recent years. Researchers are primarily focused on developing high-performance photocatalysts. This review discusses the effects of surfactant on the structural morphology, physicochemical properties and contaminant removal performance of photocatalysts. The mechanism and synthesis method of surfactant-assisted photocatalysts are reviewed. Meanwhile, the effects of surfactant type, surfactant concentration, solution pH, synthesis method and calcination temperature on the photocatalysts are also discussed in detail. In addition, we summarized the recent advances and the application of surfactant-assisted photocatalysts in the environmental remediation. Finally, the future researches on surfactant-assisted photocatalysts are also proposed. This review provides new insights into the use of surfactants to prepare photocatalysts with well-defined shape and excellent performance to enhance photocatalytic efficiency for removing pollutants.

Heavy metals are ubiquitous in the environment, and their excessive discharge and bioaccumulation can cause cardio-vascular and urinary diseases in humans. Among them, lead ion (Pb2+) and cadmium ions (Cd2+) are designated as the most typical toxic metal ions in human blood and drinking water. Thus, high-performance monitoring of Pb2+and Cd2+ pollution is necessary. Nanomaterials have been extensively used in electrochemical sensing due to their excellent physicochemical properties. In this study, we prepared ordered mesoporous carbon doped hollow spherical bismuth oxide nanocomposites (hsBi2O3-OMC NCs), and constructed it into an electrochemical sensor for highly sensitive and specific detection of Pb2+ and Cd2+ in environmental media and human blood based on the differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV). The experimental results demonstrate that the detection range could be broadened to 200 nM with detection limits of 0.025 nM for Pb2+ and 0.045 nM for Cd2+. Compared with conventional detection techniques, this sensor exhibited simple operation, minimal background interference, multipath applicability and economic efficiency. Therefore, we believe that this work is significant for pollution monitoring, environmental restoration and emergency treatment.

The wide use of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) has led to increasing concern about its human health risks over the past decade. In vivo and in vitro studies are important and effective means to ascertain the toxic effects of PFOS on humans and its toxic mechanisms. This article systematically reviews the human health risks of PFOS based on the currently known facts found by in vivo and in vitro studies from 2008 to 2018. Exposure to PFOS has caused hepatotoxicity, neurotoxicity, reproductive toxicity, immunotoxicity, thyroid disruption, cardiovascular toxicity, pulmonary toxicity, and renal toxicity in laboratory animals and many in vitro human systems. These results and related epidemiological studies confirmed the human health risks of PFOS, especially for exposure via food and drinking water. Oxidative stress and physiological process disruption based on fatty acid similarity were widely studied mechanisms of PFOS toxicity. Future research for assessing the human health risks of PFOS is recommended in the chronic toxicity and molecular mechanisms, the application of various omics, and the integration of toxicological and epidemiological data. Keywords: PFOS, Human health risk, In vivo, In vitro

Bentonite is a natural and environmentally clay mineral, and bentonite-derived mesoporous materials (BDMMs) were obtained conveniently from the alkali and acid treatment of bentonite. In the present study, BDMMs were explored for immobilization of laccase obtained from Trametes versicolor. As a result, bentonite-derived mesoporous materials-Laccase (BDMMs-Lac) was developed for the removal of tetracycline (TC). The enzyme immobilization process was carried out through physical adsorption contact (ion exchange adsorption, hydrogen bond adsorption, and Van der waals adsorption) between the BDMMs and laccase. The process of immobilization remarkably increased its operating temperature. The BDMMs-Lac exhibited over 60% removal efficiency for TC within 3 h in the presence of 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HBT). In conclusion, BDMMs-Lac showed more promising potential than free laccase for practical continuous applications.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc), an autoimmune disease with unknown etiology and pathogenesis, is characterized by abnormal autoimmunity, vascular dysfunction, and progressive fibrosis of skin and organs. Studies have shown that a key factor in the pathogenesis of SSc is aberrant activation of CD4Illumina HiSeq 2500 Platform was used to screen differentially expressed genes and explore the role of OASL, TET1, and IRF1 in the abnormal activation of CD4+T cells in SSc. Finally, double luciferase reporter gene experiments were used to analyze the interaction between IRF1 and TET1.OASL overexpression could upregulate TET1 to increase the hydroxymethylation levels of CD4+ T cells and induce high expression of functional proteins (CD40L and CD70), thus promoting CD4+T cell aberrant activation. Moreover, OASL upregulated TET1 via IRF1 signaling activation, and a double luciferase reporter gene experiment revealed that IRF1 can bind to the TET1 promoter region to regulate its expression.OASL participates in the regulation of abnormal hypomethylation of CD4+ T cells in SSc, which implies a pivotal role for IFN signaling in the pathogenesis of SSc. Regulating DNA methylation and IFN signaling may serve as therapeutic treatments in SSc.

Proper treatment of wastewater is one of the key issues to the sustainable development of human society, and people have been searching for high-efficiency and low-cost methods for wastewater treatment. This article reviews recent studies about pyrite-mediated advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) in removing refractory organics from wastewater. The basic information of pyrite and its characteristics for AOPs are first introduced. Then, the performance and mechanisms of pyrite-mediated Fenton oxidation, electro-Fenton oxidation, and persulfate oxidation processes are carefully reviewed and presented. Natural pyrite is an abundant low-cost heterogeneous catalyst for AOPs, and the slow release of Fe

Loss of melanocytes induced by activated CD8

The use of antibiotics for beings is a most significant milestone in present era. However, owing to the excessive use, a large amount of antibiotics accumulated in water, leading to serious pollution. An efficient method is urgently needed to treat the antibiotics pollution. Photo-Fenton process is a green method with utilizing solar energy. Catalyst is important. This work combines manganese ferrite MnFe

Biochar can achieve multiple benefits including solid waste management, polluted water remediation, carbon sequestration, and emission reduction. However, various environmental factors (such as temperature variations and dry-wet alternation) and microbial activity may lead to the fragmentation, dissolution, and oxidation of biochar. These accelerate the dissolution of biochar-derived dissolved organic matter (DOM) and then influence disinfection byproducts formation potential (DBPFP) throughout the water treatment process. In this paper, biochars from six biomass feedstocks with five aging processes were prepared, and the DBPFP of biochar and its derived DOM were first studied systematically. Different aging processes might increase the DBPFP of biochar by increasing DOM content and changing the fraction distribution of DOM derived from biochar. Especially, the DBPFP of biochar increased apparently with the chemical aging process. Coexisting with the environmental concentration of humic acid, even aged biochar showed the potential to reduce DBPFP and integrated toxic risk value of the mixed system. In this study, the DBPFP of biochar-derived DOM during the disinfection process is confirmed, and the results can give information to the selection of biomass feedstocks of biochar and its service life in the water treatment process.

This study systematically compares the efficacy and adverse events of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) and cyclophosphamide (CYC) in patients with systemic sclerosis-related interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD).The EMBASE and PubMed databases were systematically searched to find all relevant studies. Quality assessment, study selection, and data extraction were independently conducted by two reviewers. The mean changes in forced vital capacity (FVC)% and diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLco)% of the patients were selected to be primary outcome measures. Stata software was used for the pooled analysis.Among 284 titles screened from multiple databases, six studies met the inclusion criteria (one randomized controlled trial, three prospective observational studies, and two retrospective observational studies). The summary weighted mean difference (WMD) of FVC change in the MMF group compared with the CYC group was - 1.17 (95% CI: - 2.713, 0.373; P = 0.137), and the summary WMD of DLco change in the MMF group compared with the CYC group was 2.245 (95% CI: 0.258, 4.232; P = 0.027). Studies enrolled showed that adverse events were less common in the MMF group.The efficacy of MMF with respect to FVC and DLco improvement is comparable to that of CYC, and MMF is preferred on the basis of the occurrence of adverse events. Key Points • A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to compare the efficacy and adverse events of mycophenolate mofetil and cyclophosphamide in patients with systemic sclerosis-related interstitial lung disease. • The efficacy of MMF with respect to FVC and DLco improvement is comparable to that of CYC, and MMF is preferred on the basis of the occurrence of adverse events.

Spatio-temporal distributions of air pollution and population are two important factors influencing the patterns of mortality and diseases. Past studies have quantified the adverse effects of long-term exposure to air pollution. However, the dynamic changes of air pollution levels and population mobility within a day are rarely taken into consideration, especially in metropolitan areas. In this study, we use the high-resolution PM

Suspended microbes gradually lost advantages in practical applications of PAHs and heavy metals bioremediation. Therefore this study investigated the effect of immobilization on phenanthrene degradation by Bacillus sp. P1 in the presence of different Cd(II) concentrations. Condensed Bacillus sp. P1 was immobilized with polyvinyl alcohol and sodium alginate and PVA-SA-cell cryogel beads were prepared. The results indicated that the use of gel beads increased the number of adsorption sites thus accelerating phenanthrene degradation. In addition, changes in detoxification indices, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione (GSH), were determined to elucidate the immobilization mechanisms related to cells protection from Cd(II) when degrading phenanthrene. By protecting the gel membrane, oxidative damage was minimized, while SOD activity increased from 55.72 to 81.33 U/mgprot as Cd(II) increased from 0 to 200 mg/L but later dropped to 44.29 U/mgprot as Cd(II) increased to 300 mg/L for the non-immobilized system. On the other hand, the SOD activity kept increasing from 52.23 to 473.35 U/mgprot for the immobilized system exposed to Cd(II) concentration between 0 and 300 mg/L. For CAT and GSH, immobilization only slowed down the depletion process without any change on the variation trends. The changes in surface properties and physiological responses of microbes caused the differences of immobilization effect on phenanthrene biodegradation in the presence of Cd(II), which is a novel finding.

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a highly conserved transcription factor that can be activated by small molecules provided by dietary, plant, or microbial metabolites, and environmental pollutants. AhR is expressed in many cell types and engages in crosstalk with other signaling pathways, and therefore provides a molecular pathway that integrates environmental cues and metabolic processes. Fibrosis, which is defined as an aberrant extracellular matrix formation, is a reparative process in the terminal stage of chronic diseases. Both environmental and internal factors have been shown to participate in the pathogenesis of fibrosis; however, the underlying mechanisms still remain elusive. In this review, the potential role of AhR in the process of fibrosis, as well as potential opportunities and challenges in the development of AhR targeting therapeutics, are summarized.

Antibiotic concentrations in surface waters far exceed the pollution limit due to the abuse of pharmaceuticals, resulting in an urgent need for an approach with potential efficiency, sustainability and eco-friendliness to remove antibiotic pollutants. A novel biochar-based nanomaterial was synthesized by hydrothermal synthesis and was investigated for its removal potential for tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) from both artificial and real wastewater. The associative facilitation between biochar and g-MoS2 nanosheets was proposed, revealing the favorable surface structures and adsorption properties of the composite. The related adsorption kinetics, isotherms and thermodynamics were studied by several models with adsorption experimental data, turning out that biochar decorated by g-MoS2 exhibited optimum TC removal with adsorption capacity up to 249.45 mg/g at 298 K. The adsorption behavior of TC molecules on g-MoS2-BC can be interpreted well by three-step process, and it is dominated by several mechanisms containing pore-filling, electrostatic force, hydrogen bond and π-π interaction. In addition, the cost-effective g-MoS2-BC nanocomposites demonstrated excellent adsorption and recycling performance in TC-contaminated river water, which might provide the underlying insights needed to guide the design of promising approach for contaminant removal on a large scale in practical application.

Carbon nanotubes can interact with proteins or enzymes upon penetration into cell membranes of living organisms that may affect the protein-protein interactions in vivo. Here, three structural models composed of four-chain esterase from Hungatella hathewayi with and without pristine or carboxylated single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) are constructed to investigate the changes in protein-protein interactions and SWCNT orientations by molecular dynamics simulations. The results show that the protein-protein interact very tightly to protect them from the separation by the carboxylated or pristine SWCNTs, as shown by the calculations of binding affinity and the distances between the centers of mass of different protein chains. Both pristine and carboxylated SWCNTs cause structural changes in the esterase. In addition, functionalization (e.g., carboxylation) can regulate the SWCNT orientation when positioned near the esterase.

Nowadays, more and more attention is focused on the environmental harm brought by the wide production and use of carbon nanotubes. In this study, the metabolic function of sediment microbial community was investigated after unfunctionalized or functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were incorporated. The surface functional groups on the studied functionalized MWCNTs in this work were hydroxyl, carboxyl, and amino, respectively. The metabolic functional diversity was determined by Biolog EcoPlates after one-month exposure to MWCNTs. Incorporating 0.5 wt% amino functionalized MWCNTs significantly decreased the microbial activity and diversity, and all types of MWCNTs caused great inhibition on the microbial metabolism at the dosage of 2.0 wt%. The sediment microbes preferred polymers and amino acids. Principal component and similarity analysis indicated that the microbial carbon metabolism was more affected by the MWCNT dosage compared with the functionalization, and 2.0 wt% amino functionalized MWCNTs made the greatest difference in metabolic function of sediment microbial community. These consequences may help to assess the environmental risks of MWCNTs from the aspect of ecological relevance of sediment microbial community.

Composting is an economic and effective technology for solid waste treatment, which is an essential method to promote the biogeochemical cycle of contaminants. However, the application of this technology was limited by the bio-degradative recalcitrance of lignin and other kind of phytotoxic substances release. The combination with microorganisms and enzymes is a popular and efficient way to enhanced composting. This study, referring to metabolic mechanisms, fungal molecular and biogeochemical cycles, was performed to investigate the effects of lignin degradation, carbon metabolic diversity, as well as the related changes induced by these two kinds of complex enzymes in composting. The biological diversity is important indicator in ecosystem, which concerns the environmental applicability of one technology. The carbon metabolism diversity reflected the biogeochemical cycles of organic matter, which was also an essential input to analyze the effects of composting. The changes on the diversity characteristics of carbon are essential to comprehensively understand the deep mechanisms of this process, and extended the application of complex enzymes in the field of enhanced composting. The analysis of Biolog revealed that the utilization of pyruvic acid methyl ester, α-Cyclodextrin, d -Mannitol, d -Galacturonic, Itaconic acid and l -asparagine were deeply promoted, and that of d , l -α-Glycerol-phosphate, l -Threonine, Glycyl- l -Glutamic acid and putrescine were depressed by adding the complex enzyme in composting. Moreover, according to the data, the addition of complex enzymes improved the degradation efficiency and the metabolic capacity of carbon in composting. These findings undoubtedly contribute to the development of enzyme-based technologies and the applications of complex enzymes in composting, which is of great benefit to eliminate the limitation and extend the application of composting.

A novel adsorbent composite was synthesized by combining amino-functionalized MIL-53(Fe) with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), and used to adsorb tetracycline hydrochloride (TCN) and chlortetracycline hydrochloride (CTC). The maximum adsorption capacities of TCN and CTC over MWCNT/NH2-MIL-53(Fe) at 25 °C were 368.49 and 254.04 mg g−1, which are, respectively, 1.79 and 8.37 times higher than that of chaff biochar. Interestingly, the mesoporosity of MWCNT/NH2-MIL-53(Fe) significantly increased through introduction of MWCNT into NH2-MIL-53(Fe), which proved to be favorable for the production of active adsorption sites. Besides, the remarkably increased adsorption capacity can be ascribed to the hydrogen bonding between amino functional groups on MWCNT/NH2-MIL-53(Fe) and hydroxyl functional groups on TCN or CTC. Moreover, the π-π interaction between adsorbate and adsorbent was considered the main reason for the adsorption of TCN and CTC. The great adsorption capacity, as well as excellent reusability, demonstrated the potential application of MWCNT/NH2-MIL-53(Fe) in the removal of TCN and CTC from aqueous solutions.

The effect of insurance status on overall survival (OS) of patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is unclear. We identified 11,861 patients from the US National Cancer Data Base diagnosed with CTCL from 2004-2014, of which 6088 had private insurance, 756 had Medicaid, 4536 had Medicare, and 481 are uninsured. Privately insured patients were more likely to present at an early stage (p

Constructing highly efficient visible-light-driven (VLD) photocatalysts for organic pollutants degradation has been unearthed as a promising and green strategy on environmental remediation. In this study, a novel iodine vacancy-rich BiOI/Ag@AgI (Ag@AgI/VI-BOI) Z-scheme heterojunction photocatalyst was successfully constructed, where Ag@AgI nanoparticles in-situ grown on the surface of defective BiOI nanosheets. The morphology and structure, optical, photoluminescence, and photo-electrochemical properties of the photocatalysts were detailedly characterized. Tetracycline (TC) as a refractory antibiotic was chosen as target pollutant to evaluated the photocatalytic performance of the Ag@AgI/VI-BOI photocatalyst. The Z-scheme Ag@AgI/VI-BOI photocatalyst possessed significantly boosted photocatalytic efficiency for the degradation of TC under visible light irradiation (λ > 420 nm), which was better than that of BiOI, VI-BOI, and Ag@AgI. The impacts of photocatalyst dosages, initial TC concentrations, inorganic anions and light irradiation conditions on TC degradation were also explored. Importantly, the intermediates and possible decomposition pathways of TC were illustrated through liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy (3D EEMs) analysis. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of the Ag@AgI/VI-BOI is attributed to the synergetic effect among iodine vacancies, AgI/VI-BOI heterojunction and metallic Ag0. Additionally, the photocatalyst presented high recyclability and stability. This work can afford a new reference for fabricating photocatalyst with synergistic effect and amazing capacity for practical wastewater treatment.